Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, has stoked a new controversy with his remakrs that women did not independence.

Write for his website, Adityanath said, “Shastras have talked about giving protection to women. Just like urja (energy) left free and unchecked causes destruction, women also don’t need independence, they need protection and proper channelization. Stree shakti (women’s power) is protected by the father when a child, by the husband when an adult and by the son in old age. Women cannot be left independent or free.”

The Congress today accused him of “insulting” women in an article put out on his website and demanded his apology while asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to condemn the Uttar Pradesh chief minister for his “disparaging” remarks.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala alleged Adityanath in the article has “belittled” and “disrespected” women which “reflects his and the BJPs anti-women mindset”.

He said, the article argued that women need to be protected by men all the time and should not be allowed to be set free and likened them with a “devil” if they become powerful, brave and chivalrous like men.

He, however, did not mention when the article, written in Hindi, was uploaded on the website. The portal also did not mention the date when the article was uploaded.

Surjewala also said the article also states that women as energy cannot be left uncontrolled or independent as this can lead to “wastefulness or destruction” of women, which is “shocking”.

The Congress leader demanded that “Adityanath must forthwith apologise to women of India for his disparaging, distasteful and dishonourable remarks” and withdraw the article from his website without any condition.

He also demanded that Prime Minister Modi as also BJP chief Amit Shah “condemn” such remarks and issue Adityanath an advisory that “never hereinafter will he ever use such distasteful language to dishonour and disrespect Indias women power”.

Surjewala said the prime minister had only yesterday talked of womens development and now his chief ministers are belittling women.